


I See a Red Keep, I Want to Paint it Black

by VisIDentificationZeta



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Aegon VI Targaryen and Jon Snow are Siblings, Aegon and Rhaenys Targaryen Live, Connington won Battle of Stoney Sept, Elia Martell Lives, Elia Martell and Aegon and Rhaenys Targaryen Live, F/M, Fluff, Fuck the Lannisters, Fuck the Starks, Hero Jon Connington, House Targaryen, House Targaryen Family Fluff (ASoIaF), I don't hate her, Jon Connington doesn't hate Jon Snow, Jon Snow is Not Called Aegon, Jon Snow is Not a Stark, Jon Snow is a Targaryen, Lyanna Stark Lives, Post-Robert's Rebellion Against the Targaryens, R Plus L Equals J, Rhaegar Targaryen Lives, Rhaenys Targaryen Lives, Robert's Rebellion Fails | Rhaegar Targaryen Wins, Targaryen Restoration, but she's really not Queen material, especially not to be Aegon's Queen, jon snow/sansa stark - Freeform, not for Margaery Tyrell fans, will never happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29469018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisIDentificationZeta/pseuds/VisIDentificationZeta
Summary: Young Jaeherys Targaryen (Jon Snow) has been standing in as acting King for his father for 2 months now and he's bored. Until he has a brilliant idea!
Relationships: Aegon Targaryen (Son of Elia)/Rhaenys Targaryen (Daughter of Elia), Elia Martell/Rhaegar Targaryen, Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, Lyanna Stark/Rhaegar Targaryen, aegon targaryen/margaery tyrell (mentioned)
Comments: 62
Kudos: 81





	I See a Red Keep, I Want to Paint it Black

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alperez](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alperez/gifts), [NorthernBastard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthernBastard/gifts), [cmyatt01](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cmyatt01/gifts), [WhiteDragonWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteDragonWolf/gifts), [Romantic_06](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Romantic_06/gifts), [ThatBishLizzie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatBishLizzie/gifts), [Harjate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harjate/gifts), [VampAngel79](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampAngel79/gifts).



_Being King is boring_.

Was the conclusion Jaeherys Targaryen had made for the thousandth time in the last 2 months, but no matter how many times he came to it, it didn't make swallowing these sour grapes any easier.

_Can't wait for Father and Egg to return._

To say he wasn't enjoying taking his turn on the Iron Throne was putting it lightly. Honestly, he couldn't see any reason why so many craved this blasted chair in the first place. It was pure metal so it was either scaldingly hot in summer or cold in winter and the blades hadn't dulled even a bit in the last 3 centuries. He swore he was sure there was someone whose only job was to come by every night and sharpen them! If the worst ever came to pass and he became King he swore the first thing he'd do would be to melt the blasted thing!

The wish wasn't foreign to him, but he again wished even more for his Father's long life and that nothing happened to his older brother.

True, the job of a king did come with perks of being able to help better the lives of smallfolk, but mostly he had to deal with nobility. And cursed his ancestor Aegon for not finishing the job and putting all the families to the sword instead of just a few and thus saving his successors a lot of headaches and annoyance. Surely some magisters from Essos could've done the job of running the former kingdoms just as good if not better than those fat, entitled Lords and Ladies?

He had never considered it as a child, but as a young man now he was infinitely grateful for not being the firstborn. It saved him from having to rule later on, though he did attend same classes as Aegon, and spared him from having to marry out of duty. Okay, so Egg did luck out when Lady Margaery Tyrell died in the freak and gruesome incident involving malfunctioning privy and sheer drop from a height (morbid curiosity had him wondering how had the recovery of her body from the shitpile she fell into and supposedly drowned in gone), but his point still stood!

He glared around the throne room, it was too cheery, too bright, not reflecting his sour mood. If he was King he would paint it all black!

His thoughts froze then. He WAS King. True, only temporarily, but his Father _did_ say he was ruling in his stead...

Swift joy swept from his heart and a grin began to emerge. A grin so devious that the Hand of the King, who'd remained in King's Landing while the King, Queens and the Crown Prince and his wife the Princess were touring Westeros, was starting to look concerned.

 _Okay_ , he conceded, _maybe being King isn't_ completely _bad..._

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

"Your Grace, I strongly advice against such a course of action!"

"Objection duly noted, my Lord." Jae still dismissed his worries "The Red Keep has been the same colour for the last 300 years, it's time for a change."

"But it's the _Red_ Keep, your Grace!!! Red." the exasperation and dread was clear in the blue eyes and pale face of his father's closest confidant.

Jae sighed "Yes, I concede that point, but, mind you, the paint has almost completely faded since it was painted. Thus it is not really so red anymore, is it?"

"The stone is red as well." the other man muttered in a last resort.

Pausing and praying for strength, Jaeherys made a last appeal "Lord Jon" he started, reverting back to the name he'd had as a child for the man, back when the Hand had truly started warming up to him and their relationship improved immensely "I shall never be the King, nor do I wish to be one, but that does not mean that I don't wish to at least have _some_ impact on history and leave something to remember me by."

The redhaired Hand stared at him silently for a full minute as he fought a battle within. 

According to his mother the Griffon had not been pleased when she'd first appeared, having held the rebellion against her and her son, but as young Jaeherys had grown older and began to resemble his father all the more in both character as well as looks (bar the hair colour), so too had the Griffin let go of his grudge and let the boy into his heart, allowing a friendship to bloom. After all, Jon loved Jaeherys' father sincerely, how could he thus not love a boy who was so much like him? This unfortunately (in Jon's opinion) made him more vulnerable to manipulation from the young Prince.

The young man could see him wavering, fighting a war within himself, until finally, satisfaction blooming within the young Targaryen, the Lord of Griffin's Roost deflated as he finally gave in.

"Fair enough, your Grace, but why does it have to be black? Why not any other colour? Something bright and warm? Something that will inspire people and make them feel good and positive?" he made a last appeal for sanity.

"Because black is my favourite colour." 

Just before the Hand left the room a genius idea came to the young stand-in King, something that he knew his aunt would aprove of and make her proud of him "And try to hire as many smallfolk from Flea Bottom for the job as you can so they can earn some extra gold!"

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

A few days later a middle-aged ginger and a teenaged brunette were standing in the courtyard of the Red Keep, though it should be called Black Keep now, staring up at the monstrosity before them.

Their feelings were mixed, one was at the verge of burying his face in his hands while the other was proud as Punch.

Jon turned to his temporary Liege and reminded him "Remember your promise to protect me when the King returns and sees this, your Grace."

"Worry not, Lord Griffin, you shall not be harmed!"

Not at all reassured, the older man looked back up at the keep again and shook his head "May the Gods protect us!" then walked back inside.

"May the Gods protect you, Lord Connington," Jaeherys replied lowly to himself as he watched him go "but Targaryens answer to neither gods nor men."

 _But they do answer to other Targaryens_. finished the saying the voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his father. The niggle of doubt that appeared again was determinedly shoved away.

He stayed out as darkness fell and admired the way the immense castle blended in with the inky sky behind it. It was almost impossible to know where the sky ended and stone began.

That thought gave him pause. What if his family is late and returns in the dark? Maybe they should light a fire on the roof or at least put torches on all the balconies?

After a brief thought the lines on the young Prince's forehead and smoothened and he dismissed his worries.

"Nah! It'll be fine!"

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨J&D¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

Sitting on the blasted seat at least this time the view was more pleasant. Jaeherys looked around with satisfaction, his earlier bad mood from his fight with Daenerys over his order forgotten. It was truly beautiful how the dark walls accented the marble floor and the flickering light of the torches.

In the background from outside the hall he could hear a muffled crash before a grumpy voice yelled "Watch where y'er goin', you blind sod!"

"But I can't anything in this blasted dark!" was the indignant reply.

Jae dismissed them. They didn't understand. But they would eventually come to recognise the genius of it and be grateful their Prince had worked so hard to improve their lives.

His satisfied mood was then quite rudely broken by a tremenduous boom that shook the tower and the surprised screech of a dragon.

Jae cringed at the sound, instinctively pulling his head down between his shoulders, especially with what followed right then.

"JAEHARYS!!!!!" boomed the enraged sound of his father's voice through the entire keep, accompanied by indignant cries of a very pissed off oversized flying reptilian.

 _Shit!_ thought Jae, looking around for an exit _Should've put those navigation lights on the roof after all..._

**Author's Note:**

> I don't hate Margaery (but I do dislike Tyrells), but she needed to be removed and this story started off as a parody, so sorry about her fate. xD


End file.
